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As the group I was with continued to be guided around the Pueblo Indian village of Acoma our local guide next led us to the only church on this remote meas, the Mission San Esteban Rey:

The San Esteban del Rey Mission began construction in 1630, which was a ful 32 years after Juan de Oñate took possession of New Mexico in the name of King Philip II of Spain.  The Acoma people that were enslaved by the Spanish had completed their sentences and had returned to their ancestral mesa to rebuild their pueblo.  In order to exert their authority as well as to convert the Acoma to Catholicism the Spanish decided to build a church on this remote mesa.  The 30-foot beams used to construct the mission were carried 30 miles from Mount Taylor that soars over the Acoma lands in the northern distance.  To build the missions Acomans had to move approximately 20,000 tons of dirt and rocks from the canyon floor up the one narrow and steep path up the mesa.  The amount of work to move that much dirt and rock up the mesa is just incredible when you think about it.   The mission was built under the direction of Friar Juan Ramírez who the Acoma at first were rightfully so deeply suspicious of.  Ramirez was also suspicious of them considering how the living quarters attached to the mission had bars on the windows to prevent angry from sneaking in and killing him:

However, Friar Ramirez would ultimately win over the Acoma people with his kindness and his efforts to improve their every day lives by introducing Spanish technology and farming techniques.  Due to Ramirez’s efforts most of the Acoma Pueblo would convert to Catholicism and our guide said about 96% of the Acoma today are still Catholic even though they still mix their native beliefs with their Catholic beliefs.  As the guide walked us over to the mission she told us that we could not take pictures from the cemetery located in the front of the church.  This made it difficult to get a good frontal picture of the mission so this frontal view was the best I was able to take:

Here is another nice view of the mission via Wikipedia:

Here is a closer look at the mission as dark storm clouds brew overhead:

Here is a closer look at the bell in the bell tower:

This mission is one of the few Spanish churches to survive the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, which can be attributed to the long term effect that Friar Ramirez had on the Acoma people.  When the Spanish reconquered New Mexico in 1692 they took out their vengeance on some of the tribes that revolted, but largely left the Acoma alone.  The guide did tell us that a few years ago the King of Spain actually did issue an apology to the Acoma people, but offer no reparations.  It is an interesting question whether people who are centuries removed from the suffering their ancestors endured deserve reparations?  I also found it interesting learn about the many Native-American slaves taken by the Spanish over the years that few Americans know about.  African slavery is well known, but centuries before African slavery the Native-Americans were already suffering from Spanish slavery.

Anyway here is a nice photograph of the graveyard in front of the mission from the National Geographic website:

The graveyard was not very big, which meant over time it was quickly filled up with graves.  Because of this the Acoma decided to lay more dirt down and bury the deceased on top of each other.  Like all the buildings on top of the mesa the dirt for the graveyard had to also be carried up from the valley below.  The guide said the graveyard currently has three layers of dirt with people buried in it.  Once again the work to haul up all that dirt up that narrow path before the current road was built is just incredible to think about.  Looking out at the gravestones from the front of the church I was able to make out quite a few US military gravestones. The guide then took us inside the church and we were told we could not take pictures inside the mission.  The floor of the mission was the dirt and rock of the mesa top and there was no pews for the faithful to sit on.  The church’s walls were decorated with Catholic as well as Acoma imagery, which showed the blending of faiths our guide had told us about earlier in the tour.

The tour guide told us that the Acoma people have long supplied soldiers to the US military and that many tribe members continue to join the military today as well.  In late 2006 the Acoma Pueblo and its mission was named as a National Trust Historic Site.

After finishing up the tour of the San Esteban Del Rey Mission the tour guide gave us all the option of either taking the bus back down the road to the cultural center or walk down the ancient path that her ancestors have used for centuries to access the mesa.  To my surprise I was the only person in the tour group of about 25 people to decide to walk down the mesa.  The guide took me over to the path down the mesa and just told me to take my time walking down:

At the start of the path I could see the carved steps in the rock that leads into a hole in the rock:

Could you imagine being an invader and trying to attack this mesa through the hole in this rock?  I passed through the hole and found myself in this narrow crevice:

I walked down this crevice being very careful to watch my footing:

Some of the steps put into this crevice are of newer construction:

Other steps are the ones ancestors of today’s Acoma people carved into the rock centuries ago:

After about 10 minutes of walking I was on the valley floor and I took a look back up the crevice I came down:

At the bottom of the crevice I followed the paved road back to the cultural center.  As I walked down the road I enjoyed the various views I had of the sides of the mesa:

I soon came upon this impressive rock outcropping that is supposed to represent a couple kissing:

I next came upon this rock outcropping which was used as a corral for livestock:

I also saw the remains of a few old homes that are now abandoned:

It took me about 20 minutes to walk back to the cultural center and along the way just about every Acoma vehicle driving up the road to the Pueblo made sure to wave to me.  I definitely found the Acoma to be a very friendly people who are rightfully proud of their culture.  Once I got back to the cultural center this ended my tour, but not my great memories of the Acoma people.  Much like with Bandelier National Monument I couldn’t help, but think that American students are all well versed on the Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock, but how come they know nothing about the Acoma Pueblo and its people who were on this continent long before the Pilgrims ever landed?  I really feel that the history of the Native-American people like the Acoma are just as much a part of American history as the Pilgrims.  I just hope that more people in the future become knowledgeable and get a chance to experience the vibrant native cultures in the American West like I have had.

The Sky City Casino is located right off of I-40, which is what brings in the biggest revenue for the Acoma Indian Reservation, but the must see destination is not the casino, but its pueblo.  The Acoma Pueblo, which is also known as “Sky City” was built an estimated 1,000 years ago on top of a 112 meter (367 feet) mesa.  From the I-40 exit the pueblo is about a 30 minutes drive.  At first the road to the pueblo crosses a flat plain backdropped by the beautiful 4,094 meter (11,305 feet) Mt. Taylor:

As the road continued across the flat plain it was flanked by some very nice housing for the Acoma tribe members.  The housing was some of the nicest I have seen on an Indian Reservation.  Eventually the flat plain ended at this rocky butte:

From a pull out in front of the rocky butte that is where I realized that the flat plain was actually the top of a large mesa extending all the way from Mt. Taylor.  From the top of the mesa I had an incredible view looking down into a valley with spectacular rock outcroppings:

Unlike the top of the mesa that is largely arid, this valley was actually very green with lush grassland:

As I gazed closely at the rock outcroppings I was able to make out the Acoma Pueblo on top of one of mesa shaped rock outcroppings:

Besides seeing the Acoma Pueblo, this rock outcropping known as the Enchanted Mesa definitely caught my eyes with its impressive size and vibrant colors:

I would later find out that this Enchanted Mesa was the first home of the Acoma people before moving on to the top of their current mesa and thousand years ago. Here is a Google Earth image of this valley with the viewpoint I was standing at annotated:

After spending a few minutes admiring the view I then proceeded to drive down the road to the valley floor:

Located towards the center of the valley is the very impressive Sky City Cultural Center:

The cultural center was very nice both inside and out.  I first had to pay my admission price of $20.00 which allows you to tour the cultural center, take the guided tour of the Acoma Pueblo, and includes a camera permit.  It is important to remember that on the Acoma Indian Reservation you must have a camera permit to take pictures.  The cultural center included an informative film about the Acoma people and a nice display of their artifacts and artwork.  The cultural center also had a nice restaurant inside that had a mixture of Acoma and American food available for people.  After touring the cultural center I then went outside to wait for the tour bus to arrive to take us to the pueblo.  While I waited for the bus to arrive I just admired the scenic view that was right in front me:

Here are some closer looks at the Acoma Pueblo from the valley floor:

This pueblo is a registered National Historic Landmark and for good reason considering that it is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited villages in the United States:

Here is a Google Earth view of the pueblo:

In the cultural center I learned that the ancestors of the Acoma people moved here from the Canyon de Chelly region about a 1,000 years ago probably escaping drought or invasion from rival tribes.  When they arrived in this valley these migrants built their first community on top of the impressive Enchanted Mesa.  Building on this mesa is what is believed to have given the Acoma their name.  Acoma is believed to mean “The People of the White Rock“.  As legend has it these early Acoma people were forced to abandon the Enchanted Mesa when a ferocious storm caused a rock column to collapse and block the only way up the mesa.  The Acoma people who were able to make their way down the mesa began to construct a new pueblo at the current location.  However, the elderly people who were not able to scale down the mesa ultimately ended up starving to death.  Because of this the mesa is considered haunted and the Acoma no longer allow anyone to climb up it.

At the current mesa they built their new pueblo and it was not as high as the Enchanted Mesa, but it was still a formidable place for any invader to try and capture.  The main enemy for centuries for the Acoma were the Apaches who have long raided their lands and to a lesser extent the Navajo.  The Pueblo people say they were born of the Earth and have always lived in the American Southwest and did not migrate here like the Apache.  The Acoma say the Apache like most other tribes in America migrated across the Bering Strait from Asia which caused them to be a nomadic people that raided other tribes to survive.  The Pueblo people on the other hand had lived in these lands so long they developed cities, agriculture, arts, and other forms of advanced culture.  This made them prime targets by nomadic tribes over the centuries.  Due to their formidable location, none of these tribes would ever conquer the Acoma, but people from a far off continent on the other side of the world eventually would.

In the 16th century when the Spanish first arrived in the American Southwest they came to look for the fabled seven cities of gold.  The city on the mesa that they heard about from other tribes in the region quickly caught the interest of the Spanish Conquistadors.  According to Wikipedia, in 1598, Spanish conquistador Don Juan De Oñate, under orders from the King of Spain, invaded New Mexico, and began staging raids on Native American pueblos in the area, taking anything of value. Upon reaching San Juan Pueblo, Oñate had all the Native Americans who were living there removed from their homes and used it as a base to stage more raids on other Native American pueblos in the area. In response, the Acoma fought back, and several Spaniards were killed in the battle to re-take the pueblo from the Spaniards. During the battle, the Spaniards brought a small cannon up the back of Acoma Mesa, and began firing into the village.

Don Juan de Onate

According to Acoma oral traditions, the average Spaniard at the time weighed much more than the average Acoma, and the Spaniards also brought with them attack dogs, which were believed to be fed on human flesh and trained to eat humans alive. The Acoma people lost the Battle of Acoma, and the indigenous population of the pueblo, which had been approximately 2,000 people before the Spanish attacked, was reduced to approximately 250 survivors; as women, children, and elders were killed by the Spaniards in that battle as well.

After the survivors were herded to Santo Domingo Pueblo, all the surviving children under the age of 12 were taken from their parents, and given to Spanish missionaries to raise; but most of them and the other survivors were sold into slavery. Of the few dozen Acoma men of fighting age still alive after the battle. Oñate ordered the right foot chopped off of each one. The tour guide told us that the Acoma that were enslaved were given 20 year sentences and upon completing their sentences the survivors returned to the Acoma Pueblo and rebuilt it.  This 20 year period she explained was the only time the Pueblo was not inhabited in the last 1,000 years.  Oñate on the other hand was later tried and convicted of cruelty to Indians and colonists by the colonial Mexican government and was banished from New Mexico. However, he was cleared of all charges on appeal and lived out the rest of his life in Spain.  Is it any wonder why the Acoma people protested the building of a statue of Onate in El Paso?

Don Juan de Onate Statue In El Paso

I bought a book about the Acoma that has excerpts from Spanish journals about the battle.  As cruel as the Spanish were to the Acoma I had to admire their courage.  The group of about 400 Spanish soldiers were out numbered about 5 to 1 by the Acoma and these defenders were actually mocking the Spanish for trying to attack them with such a small force.  Think about it the Spanish sailed thousands of miles across the ocean and then walked hundreds of more miles from Mexico into hostile and unknown territory to storm a fortified city on a mesa with this small force.  No matter what you think about the Spanish Conquistadors they were without a doubt brave men.

Anyway the tour bus arrived and our native guide was quite nice and informative.  This is something I really liked about the Acoma people was how their tribal members ran everything here.  In Australia the Aboriginal tribe that manages Australia’s most well known icon, Uluru (Ayers Rock) has few members of their tribe working at the park and it felt like the park was sold to the Germans considering how many German backpackers were working at the park.  Anyway the bus proceeded to drive up a road to the top of the mesa:

The tour guide informed everyone on the bus that this road was constructed by a Hollywood movie company who wanted to shoot a movie at the pueblo about 40 years ago.  The agreement the tribe made with the movie producers was that they had to build a road for the tribe up the mesa in return for being allowed to film on the reservation.  Prior to this road the Acoma had to walk the steep and narrow path up the mountain that their ancestor had to use.  The movie company built a dirt road up the mesa for the Acoma, which the reservation eventually paved in 1994 to allow even easier access to the pueblo:

The bus dropped us off at the edge of the pueblo and the guide began to show us around. We walked along the perimeter of the pueblo to take in the expansive views:

This rock below along the road is supposed to be of a couple kissing:

Here is the view looking back towards the mesa I drove down to reach the pueblo:

Here is the view looking down at the cultural center:

On top of the mesa there is a number of natural holes in the rock the fill up with the rain water.  These holes that naturally collect water is why the early Acoma were able to live on top of this mesa.  This hole here the guide told us was historically used for watering horses:

The hole used for drinking water for tribe members is located in a isolated area of the mesa and we were told it is very clean.  We then began to walk around the pueblo and the tribe members that live here are not living in primitive squalor by any means:

Many of the buildings are of new construction and even the older buildings have been fixed up:

The guide told us that the tribe no longer makes these adobe bricks any more and instead they actually purchase them from Albuquerque based company:

The Acoma may now use modern technology to build their , none of the buildings are hooked up to the electrical grid or has running water.  Many of the people who still live here cook using these traditional ovens:

They may be off the electricity grid and have no running water, but there were plenty of vehicles driving around through the narrow dirt streets:

Located in the center of the city is this plaza where large gatherings, pow wows, and dances are held:

Near the central plaza is also the pueblo’s kiva:

A kiva is used by all the Pueblo Indians in the region for religious ceremonies and as a meeting place.  The guide explained to us that only males are allowed in the kiva and that this kiva is unusual because it is built into the pueblo and above ground.  Other pueblos in the region like the ones at Bandelier National Monument are built underground, but since the Acoma cannot dig into solid rock this one is built above ground.

As our group continue to walk around the Pueblo we came upon another natural water hole:

All around the mesa there are a number of local cooks and artists selling their wares to the tour groups passing through the pueblo.  Much of the art is extremely beautiful and as I usually do when visiting the various Indian reservations I bought a few items:

Our guide explained to us that many of the Acoma that lived in the pueblo were elderly and the pueblo was sort of a retirement village for the tribe.  Most of the current residents had lived and worked in other communities on the reservation or even off it and then retired in the Acoma Pueblo.  Their extended families help support them by helping them with water and installing generators in some of the homes for power.  She also told us that in the Acoma culture the men hold all the government positions.  Their are no women in the tribal government.  However, to balance things out the Acoma allowed only women to be property owners.  The women owned all the homes and if they didn’t want their husbands to stay in the home they could kick them out.  It was an interesting system to learn about, but our guide said that it works for her people.

Something else of interest she mentioned was that the Acoma chief actually has a wooden walking stick with a silver handle on it.  Engraved in the silver is a message of friendship from Abraham Lincoln.  This was a gift from the legendary US President to the Acoma in 1863 when the Acoma lands were officially recognized by the US government.  You often hear about how Native-American tribes were poorly treated by the US government, but our guide said the US government actually treated the Acoma well because like many of the Pueblo tribes the Acoma hated the Apache who had long raided their lands and the Acoma were more than happy to help the US military fight them.

Here is the view from the northeastern corner of the mesa:

Here is a close up view of the 130 meter (430 feet) high Enchanted Mesa as seen from this corner:

The Acoma believe that when their ancestor constructed their first city on the Enchanted Mesa it was constructed of adobes buildings just like some of the buildings standing today in the current pueblo.  To early archaeologists that traveled to the American Southwest the legend of this city on the Enchanted Mesa became a subject of much debate.  Despite having permission from the state government to climb the mesa no one was able to do it until 1897 when Professor William Libbey from Princeton University used a cannon to shoot a rope up to the top of the mesa.  The rope was then used to climb the mesa.  He searched the top of the mesa for 2-3 hours and declared there was nothing up there and that the legend was not true.  However, a few years later Archaeologist Frederick Webb Hodge ascended the mesa and found plenty of arrow points, stone tools, beads and pottery fragments lodged in crevices that proved that the top of the mesa was used at one time by the Acoma, but there was no evidence of a large adobe pueblo city.

Here was the view looking back across the valley towards Mt. Taylor:

Mt. Taylor is a holy mountain to the Acoma and other tribes in the region.  It is also a source of building wood and for hunting game.  A closer look at Mt. Taylor from the mesa reveals that it is in fact a volcano:

If you look closely at the above picture you can see the shape of the caldera of this now extinct volcano.  Mt. Taylor is no where near as big as the Jemez Supervolcano located outside of Santa Fe, but it is still quite impressive.  Here is the view looking towards the rock outcroppings that surround the cultural center:

From this corner of the mesa I then proceeded to walk to the southeastern corner of the mesa and saw this view:

Are there outhouses in New Mexico with a better view than this?  The outhouses weren’t the only ones with a great view, but there were plenty of homes on the mesa as well that enjoyed incredible views:

How about this kitchen view?:

At the center of the mesa is this large water hole that actually had a large tree growing right next it.  It was the only large tree I saw on the entire mesa:

From the water hole the guide then took us to see the historic San Esteban Mission located on this remote mesa.

Next Posting: The San Esteban Del Rey Mission

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As I continued my walk through Frijoles Canyon in New Mexico’s Bandelier National Park, the trail began to descend from the cliff side dwellings toward the center of the canyon:

Once at the bottom of the canyon the trail came to Frijoles Creek, that was surrounded by thick foliage that provided some welcome shade from the summer sun:

The water was very clean and would have provided an excellent source of water for the natives that lived here.  I crossed over the creek and then began to follow a trail that went deeper into Frijoles Canyon towards the ancient Pueblo Indian ruin known as the Alcove House.  As I hiked up the trail I noticed it became increasingly surrounded with a thick forest of ponderosa pine trees:

Eventually the trail came to an opening in the trees that looked up towards a high cliff face:

By looking closely at the cliff face I could make out people scaling ladders up the canyon wall:

Soon enough I found myself at the cliff face staring up at a steep ladder that ascended up the side of the canyon:

When I wasn’t climbing ladders I was then navigating these narrow paths cut in the rock long ago by the native Pueblo Indians:

Soon enough I could see the entrance to the cave where the Alcove House is located above me:

Here is the longest ladder I had to climb which caused a few hikers to stop their hike at this point because they were scared of heights and were waiting for their companions to return:

The people coming up and down this ladder combined with the crowd waiting at the bottom caused quite a bottleneck at this point.  Once I got up this ladder I had an easy walk an one more short ladder climb to reach the Alcove House:

The Alcove House is located 140 feet above the floor of the valley and was once home to an estimated 25 ancestral Pueblo Indians.  The Alcove House is constructed as a circular kiva.  This site was first excavated by archaeologists in 1908 where they found a number of artifacts:

Over the years the upper walls and roof on the kiva were reconstructed to its present condition and visitors to the cave can actually climb inside the kiva and look around:

Besides the kiva the sides of the cave also had caves where small adobe buildings like the ones seen on the canyon’s floor were built:

The “viga” holes on the walls of the cave is where the wood poles that helped up the adobe buildings were inserted.  It is estimated that natives lived in this cave 1250-1600 AD, which means this cave was occupied after the Indians in the Tyuonyi village in the lower reaches of the canyon had already been abandoned.  So who were these people that lived here?  There is much speculation that they may have been spiritual shamans that lived here in isolation, but no one really knows for sure.

Whoever these people were that lived here, one thing is for sure from the cave’s opening they had quite a view:

Here is the view looking further up Frijoles Canyon from the Alcove House:

After spending about 30 minutes up in the cave I then proceeded to very carefully descend back down the trail to the canyon’s floor:

Once on the floor of Frijoles Canyon I then proceeded to hike back towards the visitor center:

Along the way I spotted this mule deer foraging out in the brush.  I have seen plenty of deer before, but I always get excited every time I get a chance to spot one:

Back at the visitor center I took one last look back up Frijoles Canyon:

As I looked back I couldn’t help but think, how is it that everyone know’s about Plymouth Rock, but hardly anyone knows about Bandelier in the US?  The people that lived in this canyon were here well before European explorers arrived and their history is just as much a part of American history as the Pilgrims.  Many Americans may know nothing about the people that once lived here, but I am glad I do and feel privileged to have visited such a historic site.  I highly recommend to anyone planning to tour around New Mexico to make sure to at least budget one day to visit Bandelier National Monument because it really is a must see for both its scenic and historic significance.

As explained by the National Park Service website, this village was abandoned for hundreds of years before the first settlers began to move into Frijoles Canyon in the 1850′s.   One of these settlers Jose Montoya of Cochiti Pueblo in 1880 brought Adolph F. A. Bandelier to Frijoles Canyon who had recently moved to New Mexico to study the social organizations, customs, and movements of the native people.  Upon meeting Bandalier Montoya offered to show him his people’s ancestral homelands.  After seeing the village’s ruins Bandalier is quoted as saying that the village was, “The Grandest Thing I Ever Saw”.  Bandalier would remain in New Mexico for the next 12 years studying the region’s native people before moving to South America to study the native people there.  In his seventies Bandalier moved to Spain to study original Spanish records of the Americas.  Bandalier would pass away in Spain in 1914.

After his death, in 1916 legislation to create Bandelier National Monument was signed by President Woodrow Wilson.  It would be a while before improvements to the park would begin.  Finally between 1934 and 1941 workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked from a camp constructed in Frijoles Canyon. Among their accomplishments is the road into Frijoles Canyon, the current visitor center, a new lodge, and miles of trails. For several years during World War II the park was closed to the public and the Bandelier lodge was used to house Manhattan Project scientists and military personnel.

When I went to the monument it was a weekend and it was packed.  By the time I finished by trip to Bandelier I understood perfectly why this location is such a popular tourist destination.  The visitor center at Bandelier was pretty much your standard National Park visitor center which offered a short film about the park and a gift shop, nothing really memorable:

The rangers working at the park though I found very informative and helpful, which is as always a positive.  From the visitor center I set out on the circuit hike around the ruins to include a detour to the Alcove House that was located further up the valley in an isolated cave. Here is a map of the circuit trail:

As I walked down the trail I notice the sign pictured below, which I felt provided a great graphical representation of how the Jemez Mountains is actually one of the world’s six known supervolcanoes, with Frijoles Canyon being carved out of the side of the volcano by the waters of the Frijoles Creek:

I found the bottom of the canyon to be quite flat and heavily wooded with a mixture of pinon and ponderosa pines:

As I walked up the canyon I noticed how steep and rugged the sides of the canyon were and when I looked closely I could see small caves in the rock:

The first ruin I came upon was a large kiva:

The  ancestral Puebloans that migrated to this area from Mesa Verde, Colorado and Chaco Canyon, New Mexico about 900 years ago brought with them their building technology to include the making of kivas.  Why they left their homes to migrate here is still the subject of much debate with drought often being the most often speculated reason.  The kivas the ancestral Puebloans built were used for religious ceremonies and a meeting place for males.  The Indians entered the kiva through the roof where a fire pit inside the kiva kept it warm with the entrance serving as an outlet for the smoke:

The reason for the trenches within the kiva have not been determined but they could be for something as simple as storage, but no one knows for sure.  From the kiva the trail next came up to the ruins of the ancestral Pueblo village called Tyuonyi:

According to the National Parks Service website, Bandelier’s human history extends back for over 10,000 years when nomadic hunter-gatherers followed migrating wildlife across the mesas and canyons. By 1150 CE Ancestral Pueblo people began to build more permanent settlements. Reminders of these past times are still evident in the park as are the strong ties of the modern Pueblo people. By 1550 the Ancestral Pueblo people had moved from their homes here to pueblos along the Rio Grande (Cochiti, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo).  The people who lived in this village had an average height of 5’5″ tall for men while the average woman was 5′. The average size for people in Europe was approximately the same.  The average lifespan was 35 years; however, infant mortality rates were high. A large percentage of children never made it past 2 years of age. There would have been individuals who survived into their 50′s and 60′s but they would not be among the majority.

From the Tyuonyi ruins the trail then heads up to the cliff sides of the canyon:

The rock that composes this canyon is of a volcanic nature which means it is easily eroded.  This erosion has caused many caves to naturally appear on the canyon’s walls.  The trail from the ruins leads right into one of the larger naturally made caves:

The first Indians to migrate to this area would have used large natural caves like this to live in until they were able to construct their pueblo village:

From the cliff side trail I had a great view looking down on to the circular shaped Tyuonyi village:

These pueblo buildings would have been 2-3 stories high much like what can be seen in the Pueblo Indian village of Taos today, but built in a circle for defensive protection against any invaders. This village was estimated to have 400 rooms, but archaeologists believe that the village was only home to about 100 people.  Many of the rooms would have then been used to store food and other goods.  The village may have had a small population, but many more natives lived in homes along the side of the canyon’s walls.

The trail I was on ran parallel to the cliff where at various points ladders were put up to look into the caves that the ancestral Pueblo Indians used as homes called “cavates”:

As I continued down the trail I had another great view of Tyuonyi village:

Besides admiring the village ruins down below the sheer rock walls of Frijoles Canyon were quite a sight to see as well:

The further I traveled down the trail the more elaborate the cliff dwellings became:

The Pueblo Indians didn’t just live in the caves but they also built adobe buildings in front of many of the caves, which ruins like the ones pictured below can still be seen:

The small holes shown in the above picture are where the Indians inserted their wooden poles to support their adobe buildings.  I took a closer look at these holes known by the Pueblos as “vigas” and noticed a very faded piece of Indian art on the rock wall:

As I continued down the trail more and more ruins an caves could be seen:

Some of the adobe buildings as deduced by the wholes in the rock wall were up to three stories high:

At one point along the trail a well preserved example of this early Pueblo art could be seen:

Here is a closer look at this preserved piece of art:

Some less preserved pieces of art was also visible:

Honestly the early Pueblo Indians art skill were not very impressive compared to the aboriginal art I saw in Australia, but it was still quite interesting to see.  The village that was built along the side of the canyon along with the Tyuonyi village had to be extremely impressive to see in its heyday.  From here I was going to see another impressive structure as I hiked deeper into Frijoles Canyon to the isolated and difficult to reach Alcove House.

Next Posting: Bandelier’s Alcove House

This site is on the National Register of Historic Places due to it being home to 14th century ruins of the Giusewa Pueblo Indians.  The Indians that lived here are the ancestors of the Jemez Pueblo people that live about 12 miles down the valley from the Jemez State Monument.  In 1540-1542 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado became the first European to explore the American Southwest when he traveled north from the Spanish colonies in Mexico.  Coronado is believed to have used the Pueblo Indian villages near the present day city of Bernalillo just north of Albuquerque as a base to explore the region.

Coronado sent to Captain Francisco de Barrionuevo to explore the Jemez Mountains.  Barrionuevo is believed to be the first European to contact the “Hemes” villages in the mountains northwest of Bernalillo. “Hemes” in the native Towa language still spoken today by the natives in the area, means “people”.  However, the Spanish heard this and misunderstood it to mean that they were “Jemez Indians”.  The name stuck but at least the name of the Pueblo were the Indians lived “Giusewa” was properly understood to mean, “the place of boiling waters” due to the nearby hot springs, which have made the nearby village of Jemez Springs a tourist destination today.

The best place to start any visit to Jemez State Monument is by visiting the informative visitor center.  The visitor center has a number of great displays about the native people:

As well as many displays showcasing the various Indian artifacts found at the Pueblo:

From the visitor center there is a trail that allows visitors to walk through the extent of these ruins.  As I began the walk I happened to notice that the Jemez Springs weather station located right next to the visitor center:

As I walked passed the weather station I noticed this reconstruction of a traditional Native-American cooking stove:

Many Native-Americans still use these stoves today to cook and I buy bread from the locals whenever I have chance that make them in these stoves because it is quite good.  Just passed the stove I was able to see some of the older ruins of the Giusewa Pueblo that have been eroded more by the passing of time compared to the newer ruins still visible today:

It is the people who lived in these homes that the Spanish explorers to the area would have seen.  The Jemez Indians were peaceful and provided provisions for their Spanish visitors, but they were suspicious of them due to reports of harsh treatment from Pueblo tribes around the Rio Grande River.  As I continued down the trail I took in the beautifully colored cliffs that I’m sure the early Spanish explorers must have also been impressed by:

The next structure I saw along the trail was this rebuilt kiva:

The kiva was first used by ancestral Puebloans that migrated to the Santa Fe and Albuquerque area from Mesa Verde, Colorado and Chaco Canyon, New Mexico about 900 years ago.  Why they left their homes to migrate here is still the subject of much debate with drought often being the most often speculated reason since the Rio Grande and its tributaries in the region are reliable year around water sources.  The kiva was used for religious ceremonies and a meeting place for males.  The Indians entered the kiva through the roof where a fire pit inside the kiva kept it warm with the entrance serving as an outlet for the smoke.  It is actually cleverly made structure, but what I find most interesting just like many other Native-American communities in the area with a Spanish mission past, is how the Spanish clergy allowed the natives to maintain these kivas that many in Spain would likely consider demonic heresy.

Near the kiva was the ruins of what had once been small rooms where some archaeologists believe may have been home to early Christian converts:

The trail then continues to the front of the San José de los Jemez Mission Church where the original nave can still be seen:

This church was built in 1621 based on a design believed to have come from Fray Geronimo de Zarate Salmeron.  Before Salmeron came to New Mexico he built two important causeways in Mexico City which was an impressive engineering accomplishment at the time.  The church was designed to create a sense of awe for anyone visiting the church for the first time:

I wasn’t to awed when I walked into the church, but such a structure back in the 17th century had to be quite impressive to the native Pueblo Indians:

Looking at the walls I couldn’t help but be impressed with how long the adobe bricks have been able to withstand the test of time in the harsh New Mexico environment:

Attached to the church is what is believed to have been the original mission constructed here at Giusewa Pueblo around 1598 before the construction of the San José de los Jemez Mission:

The bell tower continues to be the most impressive structure of the entire site just like it was centuries ago when the Spanish friars would ring the bell to signal the time for various mission activities:

As I continued up the valley to the upper reaches of the Pueblo I was offered a great view of the bell tower backdropped by the impressive cliffs on the far side of the canyon:

The trail loops around the remainder of the ruins of the Guisewa Pueblo before heading back towards the visitor center:

As I walked around the ruins I couldn’t help, but think that who ever lived in this room had a great view:

The mission at this Pueblo remained active until the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 that saw the expulsion of the Spanish from New Mexico.  It is theorized that when the Spanish returned with a large Army to reconquer New Mexico in 1692 the villagers of Guisewa Pueblo fled and never returned to this Pueblo.  The designation of the Pueblo as a State Monument has brought in much funding to restore the ruins for the archaeologists that continue to study and make new findings about the native people and the Spanish colonists who once called this scenic part of the Jemez Mountains home.

It is definitely worth taking an hour to stop and check out this site that offers an interesting insight into the lives of these Native-Americans along with learning about the early interaction between these native peoples and the early Spanish colonists.

The 175-square-mile Valles caldera forms a large pock in the middle of northern New Mexico, west of Santa Fe. It last exploded 1.2 million and 1.6 million years ago, piling up 150 cubic miles of rock and blasting ash as far away as Iowa. That's equivalent to roughly 2,000 Mount St. Helens eruptions.

Interestingly this isn’t the only supervolcano I have visited; during a trip to New Zealand when my wife and I spent an incredible time holidaying at Lake Taupo, which is the caldera of a supervolcano and one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited:

Lake Taupo, New Zealand

The best way to explore these mountains is by driving along New Mexico State Road 4, which is known as the Jemez Mountain Trail that traverses the entire length of the supervolcano.

I recommend driving west up Highway 550 from Bernalillo just south of Santa Fe to begin the climb into the Jemez Mountains from the south:

Along the way on Highway 550 there are a number of Pueblo Indian Reservations such as the Zia Pueblo that can be seen from the road:

There is really nothing impressive about these Pueblo communities compared to the historic Taos and Acoma Pueblos that are located in the region.  As I continued down Highway 550 the famous colorful rocks of the Jemez Mountains began to come into view:

As I turned onto State Road 4 the colorful rocks were much closer and even more impressive:

Here is another picture of the colorful rock plateau seen above as viewed from further down the road:

Here is a picture of the red rocks further up the Jemez Mountain Trail:

Looking at these rocks it is easy to imagine how this was once a supervolcano and how over time the water flowing down the sides of the volcano have greatly eroded it to expose all these beautifully colored rocks:

As the road began to ascend into the Jemez Mountains we were soon surrounded by the brilliantly colored red rock:

Here is a picture of State Road 4 ascending into the Jemez Mountains:

Along the road I pulled over into a park that provided access to the Jemez River.  It is this river through thousands of years that is partly responsible for eroding this supervolcano into the splendor of colors that can be seen today:

Eventually State Road 4 enters into the small village of Jemez Springs that is known for its various hot springs and the historic Guisewa Pueblo located on the outskirts of the village.  This Pueblo was constructed in the 16th century by Spanish explorers.  It was occupied for hundreds of years by local Native-Americans to include having its own Spanish mission that can still be seen today:

Besides the hot springs in Jemez Springs further evidence that this supervolcano is still alive and active today can be seen just up the road from Jemez Springs at Soda Dam:

Thousands of years of superheated mineral water being pushed to the surface caused by the hot cauldron of molten rock below the surface has created a natural dam along the Jemez River. The river has, however been able to erode a path through the mineral dam that has created a small waterfall:

When I visited there was a few people wading in the water, but I was wearing shoes and didn’t wade into myself.  The water also didn’t look very clean compared to the hot springs in New Zealand my wife and I had a great time swimming in. As I walked around the dam there was little areas where I was able to see the hot water bubbling to the surface and slowly leaking into the river:

Once passed Soda Dam the Jemez River flows normally down the valley towards Jemez Springs:

Here is the view from the top of Soda Dam looking further up river into the Santa Fe National Forest:

Another interesting natural feature just up the road from Soda Springs is Battleship Rock:

Looking at this impressive butte it is easy to understand why it was called Battleship Rock.  Something of note about Battleship Rock is that there is a trail that begins here that takes hikers to isolated hot springs in the surrounding forest.  This is something I would definitely like to do sometime.  Here is a view from Battleship Rock looking south down the canyon I drove up:

Here in the upper reaches of the Jemez Mountains the slopes of this supervolcano are thickly forested, which stands in steep contrast to the colorful, but sparsely vegetated cliffs at the lower altitudes:

Finally at the very top of this supervolcano the Jemez Mountain Trail enters into the Valles Caldera National Preserve, which is the caldera of this supervolcano:

This caldera is 12 miles wide and sits at an altitude of 8,750 feet, which is big enough to classify the Jemez Mountains as a supervolcano:

The caldera is composed of rich grassland that is surrounded by the rim of the supervolcano:

This grassland used to be a private ranch from 1860 to 2000 when the Valles Caldera Preservation Act was passed, which transferred the land over to the government for preservation while continuing to allow the operation of the cattle ranch.  In the below picture in the background you can see the highest point of the Jemez Mountains, Redondo Peak that soars to a height of 11,258 feet (3,431 meters), which was created by swelling magma in the volcano’s caldera:

There is a little hill that can be seen in the middle of the caldera, which is in fact a rhyolite lava dome.  This lava dome right now is enough to contain the heat bubbling below the surface of this supervolcano.  Fortunately there is no danger of this volcano erupting any time soon because this supervolcano was formed in a massive eruption 1.4 million years ago and the last time it erupted was 50,000 years ago.

After passing through the Valles Caldera State Road 4 than comes to its ultimate destination, Frijoles Canyon which is home to ancient ruins of the ancestral Pueblo Indians at Bandalier National Monument:

Just like with the valley I drove up that was carved by the Jemez River, the creek that flows through this canyon is partly responsible for carving this canyon as well.  The ancient ruins located in this valley are really a must see for anyone visiting New Mexico.  From Bandalier National Monument State Road 4 twist an turns its way out of the various canyons that can be found on the east side of the Jemez Mountains:

Eventually these twisting roads make their way to the isolated, but historic city of Los Alamos:

After visiting Los Alamos I then proceeded to head back to Santa Fe.  As I headed to Santa Fe I took one last look back towards the beautiful Jemez Mountains:

From this view it was easy to picture how these mountains were once a large shield volcano that has had its top blown off of it over a million years ago.  The supervolcano that these mountains hide may no longer be threat, but its many scenic wonders made possible by its volcanic past continues to wow people to this day.

The first church along the Mission Trail is the Ysleta del Sur Mission that was built in 1680 by the clergymen Antonio de Otermin and Fray Francisco de Ayaeta.  Like most of the churches constructed by the Spanish in their early conquest of the American Southwest this mission was constructed by the native Tigua Indians that were relocated to the El Paso area by the Spanish from their native pueblo at Isleta, New Mexico.  The mission went through various renovations and updates over the decades, which has allowed it to be oldest continuously active parish in the state of Texas.  The community of Ysleta where the church is located happens to be the oldest town in Texas, which dates back to 1682, but the city has long been overwhelmed by the growth of El Paso and feels like it is just another neighborhood in the city even though it is a completely different town.  Unfortunately since this is a very active church I was not able to take any pictures of the inside of the mission since a service was going on, but it was still quite nice to see the church from the outside:

From the Ysleta Mission I then proceeded to drive to the Socorro Mission located just a few miles south from Ysleta along the banks of the Rio Grande.  Due to this mission being located so close to the Rio Grande it has had to be rebuilt twice due to flooding in the 1800′s.  The mission dates back to 1682 when Piro and Manso Indians moved to the region with the Spanish colonists who had been expelled from New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 that removed all the Spanish from New Mexico.  The Piro and Manso Indians lived in the Soccoro, New Mexico area and when the Spanish fled south after the revolt these tribes helped them with food and shelter.  The Piro had long been friends with the Spanish from when Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate first visited the area in 1598 and was offered water and aid by the locals.  That is why the area was given the name Socorro which means “help” in Spanish.  Some of the members of these tribes left with the Spanish after aiding them once again because they feared retaliation by other Pueblo tribes and the Apaches.  This ended up being a wise decision because the Piro and Manso that remained in Socorro were wiped out.  The Piro and Manso refugees first met for church services in a hut in their new home along the Rio Grande until they completed construction of the Socorro Mission in 1691 that was named after their home land:

There was no services going on when I visited the Socorro Mission I was able to take a peak in side and admire the beautiful wood beams carved by the Piro Indians when they constructed the church:

The statue on the left side of the altar is the famous statue of St. Michael.  Legend has it that the statue was being transported from Mexico City to Santa Fe in 1845 when the oxcart that was used to move the statue got stuck in mud near the Socorro Mission.  Parishioners at the mission believed that this was a sign that the statue wanted Socorro to be its home and the statue has remained at the Socorro Mission ever since:

From the Socorro Mission I then drove 6 miles further south to see the third church along the Mission Trail, the San Elizario Mission. Along the way to the mission I was amazed to see that such a water intensive crop like cotton was being grown in the middle of such an arid desert, but apparently the Rio Grande provides enough water to make this a profitable crop for the local farmers:

Anyway the San Elizario Mission was first constructed in 1789 as a Spanish military fort with a chapel inside.  After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 the fort was abandoned and the structure fell into disrepair.  The present day San Elizario Mission was constructed in 1887 on the ruins of the original chapel:

The mission was all locked up when I visited so I wasn’t able to get any pictures of the inside of this church either, but from the outside it is a nice looking historic building that anchors the pleasant plaza in the middle of San Elizario.  Besides these missions there are also other historic missions located across the river in the Ciudad, Juarez region of Mexico that you will not see me visiting any time soon since I value my life.  For those that haven’t been following the news Ciudad Juarez is currently in the middle of a brutal and deadly drug war that has made travel to the very dangerous.  Fortunately no one has to travel to Juarez to see historic Spanish missions when El Paso’s Mission Trail provides three great churches for those interested in Spanish history and historical architecture to admire.

This is a picture of the southern reaches of New Mexico’s Organ Mountains as viewed from White Sands Missile Range.

This is a picture of the Central region of New Mexico’s Organ Mountains as viewed from White Sands Missile Range.

These various sections in the cemetery remain to this day with the newest section being where the Buffalo Soldiers of Old West fame were relocated:

Another section of the cemetery located to the north of the new Buffalo Soldier Memorial is where the French family is buried:

Captain A.H. French married into the Hugh Stephenson family that originally owned this property and is buried here with his family to include Hugh Stephenson’s wife Juana Ascarate.  Located to the south of the Buffalo Soldier Memorial is the are  reserved for members of the Masonic Lodge:

This section for the Mason’s was quite large:

They even had a large obelisk to designate their corner of this large cemetery:

Most of the graves had a Masonic symbol on it such as this grave below of Charles Dyer who I wondered was the same person that the infamous Dyer street in El Paso is named after:

However, some of the graves did not have any symbols such as this section of graves for the Biggs family:

The grave for Lieutenant James Biggs is the person that Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso is named after.  Lt. Biggs died in combat during World War I and his body was moved from Europe to where it rest today with the rest of his family at Concordia Cemetery.  I also saw in the Mason’s section someone that was buried recently and his grave had no Masonic symbols for some reason:

Someone else also buried in this section of the cemetery is Captain James H. White:

He came to El Paso in 1869 after serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  In the 1870′s White served in both the Mexican and American armies before getting a job as a US Marshal in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  He would later go on to become both the Sheriff and then a tax collector for the city of El Paso.  He was a Mason, Shriner, and a Knight of Templar before passing away in 1907.

At the corner entrance into the Masonic section of the cemetery is this tomb:

According to the Concordia Cemetery map I had this tomb was once used as the resting place for the deceased Mexican President Huerta Victoriano.

Huerta had ceased the Mexican Presidency in a coup in 1913.  He was later implicated in the German attempt to form a military alliance with Mexico in order for the Mexicans to attack the United States during World War I.  He was later exiled in 1915 and worked his way from Europe and then to the United States as he plotted to return to power.  He was arrested just up the road from where I live, in Newman, New Mexico by American authorities for violating the US’s neutrality laws.  He was imprisoned at Ft. Bliss in El Paso.  He would later die in jail and was buried in Concordia Cemetery.

Easily the most famous person buried in Concordia is John Wesley Hardin:

Hardin was an outlaw that spent 15 years in prison for murder before being pardoned for his crimes in 1893.  Hardin claimed to have killed 30 people before being imprisoned at the Huntsville, Texas prison.  During his time in prison Hardin studied law and a few months after his release he passed the Texas state bar exam.

John Wesley Hardin

The outlaw and excon had now officially become a qualified lawyer.   He then moved to El Paso to practice law and while gambling at a local bar Hardin was shot in the back of the head by 56-year-old constable, John Selman, Sr. who shot him after Hardin earlier that day had a verbal dispute with his son.  It is an incredibly inglorious way for such a deadly gunfighter to go out.

From Hardin’s grave I next walked over to the Chinese section of the cemetery:

The Chinese community was first established in El Paso when 300 Chinese laborers came to the city to work on the construction of the railroads in the area in the late 1800′s.  Some stayed and became permanent fixtures in the community.  When they passed away they were buried in their own part of the cemetery:

I have seen plenty of Chinese cemeteries before in various areas around the world, but I have never seen one with grave coverings like these:

Here is a close up of the grave coverings, has anyone seen Chinese grave coverings like these before:

By the way here is an example of how Chinese immigrants in Australia were buried.

Here is an El Paso ethnic Chinese that passed away a few years ago who was also a military veteran:

Here was a marker located in the middle of the cemetery:

Here is something that I see in every Chinese cemetery, which is a burning tower:

Something strange about the Chinese portion of the cemetery is that they have been given a huge chunk of land to bury their dead, but there is hardly anyone buried here:

In the above picture in the top right you can see where the earlier pictured grave coverings are located.  On this opposite end of the cemetery is a few more grave coverings, but most of the tombstones are of the variety pictured above.  After checking out the Chinese Cemetery I decided to call it a day because it was 106 degrees out and I had been walking around in the cemetery for an hour and a half.  There was still more sections of the cemetery to see such as the Jewish area, but I was spent from the relentless sun beating down on me.  So I will just have to make another visit to this cemetery some time.

Anyway on the way out I happened to notice this gravestone of Olaf Cornelius Ellison who came to be buried here in El Paso after being born all the way in Norway:

However, he ended up all the way out here I’m sure is an interesting life story.  Also on my way to the exit I also noticed this sign that provided some various facts about the cemetery:

Finally if you are wondering what the hours are for the cemetery here they are posted on the entrance gate:

The easiest way I found to reach the cemetery is by exiting US 54 on to Montana Street.  Follow Montana to the west and then take a left on Houston followed by a right on Yandell Drive.  Yandell runs parallel to the cemetery, so just follow it until you see the cemetery entrance on the left.  The cemetery is actually pretty easy to find even for people visiting from out of town.  The cemetery does have security guards for anyone worried about their safety while visiting because it is located in a somewhat run down neighborhood.  The biggest thing I warn people of is what I mentioned earlier, the heat because there is little shade and no water available unless visitors bring their own.  Another concern are the rattlesnakes that are known to live in the cemetery.  It is best to keep an eye out for them when visiting, but likely visitors will not see any.

So for anyone deciding to visit Concordia Cemetery just keep these few tips in mind and their shouldn’t be any issues while visiting this historic cemetery.